In some ways I believe that with modern training equipment we can become better fighters than those in ancient times. Modern medicine has improved significantly so that we may recover faster and treat injuries that would have crippled those in the past. In unarmed fighting we can soften the blows with gloves and headgear. In sword fighting we can fight full-contact and "die" over and over again with special training swords, fencing masks, gloves and chest protectors, learning from our mistakes. Not too long ago even getting a scratch could easily lead to death and this kind of equipment had not been invented, so it was a risky business.
Because of this I believe that it is possible for us to become better fighters than those of the past - especially when it comes to weapon arts, as the ancients would have engaged in battle far less than we do now. I'd go as far as saying that in my relatively short time of studying swordsmanship that I've done more sword fighting than most would have in their entire lives.
It's really hard to know how good the ancient Greeks were at Pankration. I suspect they might have been pretty darn good... MMA is a relatively young sport. Have we caught up with where they were at? Who knows.
middleway wrote:It's really hard to know how good the ancient Greeks were at Pankration. I suspect they might have been pretty darn good... MMA is a relatively young sport. Have we caught up with where they were at? Who knows.
Indeed we really cant know and its all just for fun really. Without real information on the level of ancient people we cant know if people in this time are 'better'.
In sword fighting we can fight full-contact and "die" over and over again with special training swords, fencing masks, gloves and chest protectors, learning from our mistakes. Not too long ago even getting a scratch could easily lead to death and this kind of equipment had not been invented, so it was a risky business.
Because of this I believe that it is possible for us to become better fighters than those of the past - especially when it comes to weapon arts, as the ancients would have engaged in battle far less than we do now. I'd go as far as saying that in my relatively short time of studying swordsmanship that I've done more sword fighting than most would have in their entire lives. Training with wooden swords and pulling every blow and thrust is not the same at all. Timing, distance, feinting are all lost.
GrahamB wrote:Some home truths about the Samurai:
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